13 of the Best Audiobooks to Listen to Right Now

Dawn RaffelJul 13

Traffic jams? Flight delays? You won’t mind so much when you’re listening to something terrific.

The Goldfinch

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This coming-of-age novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2014…and if you haven’t had time to read it, it’s time to change that. Considered one of the best audiobooks ever, the audio lets you take Donna Tartt’s crystalline prose and intricate storytelling to go. Available from numerous online platforms in digital or CD format, The Goldfinch is narrated by actor David Pittu. Here are some of the best debut novels from the past 50 years.

The Cuckoo’s Calling

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Unless you’ve been trapped in a dungeon at Hogwarts, you know that this detective novel by “Robert Galbraith” was really written by J.K. Rowling. But have you heard it yet? The audio is narrated by actor Robert Glenister. Harry Potter itself, unsurprisingly, is one of the best audiobooks to listen to as a family.

Life After Life

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What if you could live again and again, until you got it right? Kate Atkinson’s novel about Ursula Todd, first born in 1910, was a big hit with critics and readers when it debuted in 2013, and the audio version remains one of the best audiobooks of the last few years. The book is narrated by actress Fenella Woolgar.

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls

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Let’s get snarled in every kind of traffic delay while we listen to these seriously funny stories written, and read, by the deliciously subversive David Sedaris. In fact, we’re kinda hoping for a blizzard at the airport with this one.

The Princess Diarist

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Even if you’re not a Star Wars aficionado, you’ll be riveted listening to Carrie Fisher chronicle her time spent on the set of the films that changed cinema forever. This Grammy-winning audiobook also features Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd, who narrates the passages that focus on Fisher’s young life.

Sherlock Holmes

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Should you listen to a collection of the best detective stories of all time, read by British author and Holmes fan Stephen Fry? Elementary, my dear. This audio collection features eight of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s best stories about the genius detective, complete with introductions by Fry. Here are some more classic books you really should have read by now.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

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The host of The Daily Show chronicles his turbulent upbringing in apartheid South Africa in this autobiography. This is one of the best audiobooks to listen to if you like an intriguing, thought-provoking story that also sparkles with relevant humor.

Neverwhere

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This book, the debut novel of now-sci-fi-superstar Neil Gaiman, is one of NPR’s Top 100 sci-fi and fantasy books of all time. Even if this genre isn’t your favorite, this supernatural London-set tale is sure to captivate you while read out loud by the author himself.

The Help

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If you haven’t read this bestselling novel by Kathryn Stockett, it’s time to do just that, and the audiobook is a great way to experience it. Just like the story itself, the audiobook is narrated by multiple different women, including Octavia Spencer, who won an Academy Award for her role as Minny in the film adaptation. The funny and poignant 1960s-set story celebrates the power of female friendships to conquer divisions and prejudice. Here are some more of the best books to read with iconic female friendships.

The Undoing Project

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Written by Michael Lewis and narrated by Dennis Boutsikaris, The Undoing Project tells the fascinating true story of the two Israeli scientists who developed the field of behavioral economics. Despite incredible odds, they published their groundbreaking research, would eventually win the Nobel Prize. This book is as much about the unlikely friendship between the two scientists as it is about the world-changing discoveries they made. Next, check out these other great books that might just change your life.

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